We've been wanting to do a 'winter' wild camp for a while now. But one thing or another always seems to have got in the way. But the weather forecast looked perfect for Friday night so we decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Now I have to admit this wasn't the longest of trips. But we wanted to keep it fairly short and also pitch the tent not too far from the car, just in case things went wrong. This was going to be Badger's first ever night camping, and we weren't 100% sure what he'd make of it. I wasn't too sure how I'd cope wither with my hands/feet. Regardless of all that we wanted to give it a try, and at the worst we might have had to pack up and walk back to the car during the night. As it turned out we had a brilliant night, yes it was very cold, there was as much ice on the inside of the bivi as there was outside on Saturday morning. Saying that we were both toasty and warm all night, and both Cleo and Badger loved it. In fact they were like big hot water bottles, which help keep us warm. The only really down side was the fact it was dark for the best part of 14 hours. So we were tucked up in our sleeping bags by 6pm to keep warm. OK time for some photos of the trip, I've also added three photos at the start that I took early Friday morning before we left home. It was another one of those stunning sun rises and I just couldn't help grabbing a few shots!
Colourful skies first thing Friday morning at home
So I couldn't resist a quick walk along the river
and what a stunning sun rise, the best we've had for a while
Back at home sorting the kit out to pack into the bags
All packed and ready to head off to the lakes
We started the walk from Elterwater village
The weather was glorious, plenty of blue skies and warm sunshine
A glimpse of the Langdale Pikes
Looking across towards Black Crag
A view across to the Eastern Fells from Huntingstile Crag
and over towards Wansfell
and the view to the south from the top of the steep climb up
Seat Sandal and Dunmail Raise from the small tarn
Which was frozen solid, unlike when I last visited here in August last year
Looking back at Loughrigg
As we gained height the views into Great Langdale improved
The view back to Loughrigg with Windermere beyond from the climb up Dow Bank
Sheena and the dogs taking a breather at the top
The shadows were getting longer now, time to find somewhere to camp
We initially found this spot overlooking Grasmere but it was pretty soggy underfoot so decided to look further on
The light was lovely on the fells was we headed into Megs Gill
Just after crossing the stream we decided on this spot, which had great views of the Langdale Pikes
It didn't take long to put the bivi shelter up
Last light of the Crinkle Crags as I was getting tea ready, it was long before we were in the shelter to keep warm
First light on Saturday morning, was surprised to see so much cloud
The forecast said lots of valley fog, obviously they got that wrong again
It had been a really cold night up here
This was the ice on the inside of the shelter
The sun just breaking over the horizon
Sheena enjoying the views while I headed off to get some fresh water, the stuff we got last night had frozen solid in the bottles!
Cleo and Badger watching Sheena getting their breakfast ready for them
While I got some porridge ready for us, this instant stuff is really handy, plus there's no messy pans to clean up!
The views from up here were amazing as the sun rose and the cloud drifted off to the north
Me enjoying the views
or may be I was trying to work out how long it would take the sun to melt the ice of the shelter?
Play time with the puppies
Looking across Lingmoor Fell towards the distant Coniston Fells
Time for one last cup of coffee before packing up
The cloud had just about cleared away now, so fingers crossed we might get some lovely views
All packed up and ready to go
We decided to take a longer route back down to the car, seeing a the weather was so lovely
So we headed over to Lang How tarn first and then came back over Silver How, which would be a new 'wainwright' for Badger
Side Pike with Pike O'Blisco in the background
The stunning view down into the Great Langdale valley
Sheena and the puppies waiting for me to take the photos
Lang How Tarn, with the Coniston Fells just about visible through the haze
This is where we turned and headed off towards Silver How
The summit of Silver How, bringing Badger's Wainwright tally up to 3!
The Langdale Pikes from Silver How
The hazy view down onto Grasmere and Rydal Water
Heading back towards Megs Gill where we retrace our route from yesterday back down to the car
A slightly less hazy view of Grasmere and Rydal Water
The quarry at Elterwater with Wetherlam behind
Loughrigg from the tarn on Huntingstile Crag
Back on the road now
One last view of Bow Fell and the Langdale Pikes
Just a short walk back to the car park, which was very busy, not surprised due to the lovely weather!
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The previous journal entry was Red Skies
The next journal entry is Dawn + Dusk two short walks around High Coniscliffe 
See my other walks in this area My other 2012 journal entriesAll of the photograph's from this walk were taken using my Canon 5D MkII camera
© www.mywainwrights.co.uk (This page was last updated - 21 January 2012)
